Could be another year before bad bend on A935 is fixed

It could be another year before a bad double bend on the road between Montrose and Brechin is realigned, according to a local councillor.

The two bends at Mill of Dun on the A935 were meant to be realigned in 2012, but Montrose Councillor Bill Duff said it could be a further year before work starts due to on-going negotiations with the land owner.

The readjustment of the road at Mill on Dun was part of a £1.7 million project by Angus Council to improve the A93, which had three stages that were all planned for 2012.

The first phase of realigning the bends on the road was at West Broomley, which was completed in February 2012, and second stage at Balwyllo was finished in May of that year.

The third and final phase was for the realignment of the double bends at Mill of Dun. The work for which was meant start in the late summer or early autumn in 2012.

But land negotiations have been on-going with the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), who own the site, for two years.

Mr Duff said: “They’re bad bends.

“The realignment should have been done last year, but we haven’t been able to get the land from NTS.

“We had hoped it could be done this year, but if we can’t do it this summer it is looking like it will be another year before the two bends are realigned.”

Mr Duff said he fears that as council budgets are tight if the double bends aren’t readjusted soon, the money may “go back into the pot”.

“If the road isn’t done this year then the money could be spent on something else,” he said.

A spokeswoman for NTS said the delay in signing the land over to Angus Council is because the land is inalienable, which means the ownership is not transferable to others.

She said: “The Trust is sympathetic to the safety concerns relating to this stretch of road and is pushing this forward as quickly as possible.

“Due to a number of issues, including the fact that this land is inalienable, this process has taken some time, however, we are nearing conclusion.

“It’s hard to give a timescale, but we are moving forward as quickly as we can.”

As a further improvement to the A935, Angus Council had also planned to change the footpath which runs from Mains of Dun to Montrose on the north side of the A935 to a shared use footway and cycleway.

The was meant to be carried out in August 2012 after the works at Balwyllo were complete.

A council spokesperson said: “This work has been approved by the council, but due to objections received, it legally requires to be determined by Scottish Ministers. We are awaiting a decision.”